(Updated:) American war dead are reportedly "losers and suckers" to Donald Trump. No human would give that reprehensible + soulless point of view any kind of a 'pass', ever

 (Commentary, including reposted material. Temporarily posted.)

9/4/20 update: Significant aspects of The Atlantic's reporting (below) have now been confirmed (by major news outlets) here, here and here. (Subscriptions may be required.)

Additional reporting, 9/5/20 article link: "Trump referred to Marines buried at cemetery in France in crude and derogatory terms, a former senior administration official says" 

9/5/20 story link: "Fox News Reporter Snaps Back As Trump Demands Her Firing For Confirming War Dead Story"

(More, further below..) 

(Comment:) No one should let this latest Trump abomination "slide". We may again 'pause' this blog soon, but a new mission will be to (strive to) make certain Trump's words + attitudes about U.S. military service will always be associated with him, and never be forgotten.

A 9/5/20 article link: "'Miracle on the Hudson' pilot 'Sully' Sullenberger blasts Trump over a report he disparaged fallen US service members"

(↓Previously posted material:) 

Here's the 9/3/20 story (link): 

"Trump: Americans Who Died in War Are ‘Losers’ and ‘Suckers’"

Brief excerpt:

"...Trump rejected the idea of the visit because he feared his hair would become disheveled in the rain, and because he did not believe it important to honor American war dead, according to four people with firsthand knowledge of the discussion that day. In a conversation with senior staff members on the morning of the scheduled visit, Trump said, “Why should I go to that cemetery? It’s filled with losers.” In a separate conversation on the same trip, Trump referred to the more than 1,800 marines who lost their lives at Belleau Wood as “suckers” for getting killed.

Belleau Wood is a consequential battle in American history, and the ground on which it was fought is venerated by the Marine Corps. America and its allies stopped the German advance toward Paris there in the spring of 1918. But Trump, on that same trip, asked aides, “Who were the good guys in this war?” He also said that he didn’t understand why the United States would intervene on the side of the Allies."

>>> (Inserted comment:) **Your tiny-blog writer's U.S. Marine grandfather fought in and survived the Battle of Belleau Wood -- and five more World War I battles in France, 1918.** (A little more about Belleau Wood is excerpted further below.. P.S. My grandfather's battalion was awarded France's fourragère of the Croix de Guerre following the victory at Belleau Wood.)

("This file is in the public domain, because the two-dimensional work of art depicted in this image is in the public domain in the United States because it was published in the U.S. before 1923; its copyright has also expired in countries with copyright terms of life of the author plus 50 years. This photograph of the work is in the public domain in the United States (see Bridgeman Art Library v. Corel Corp.)")

(Insert:) Compare and contrast (with the image above:)

YT video link. No copyright claimed or assumed. No affiliation.

>>>↓Insert: 9/7/20 copy, no affiliation:

Meet Trump campaign Director of Strategic Response @FrancisBrennan mocking Joe Biden for visiting the grave of his late son who is a US military vet. It's not just Trump- it's the entire Trump team that hates our veterans! #TrumpHatesOurVeterans https://t.co/eQYbX2iy6Y

— (((DeanObeidallah))) (@DeanObeidallah) September 7, 2020

...................................

(Copies:) ↓Five brief Twitter excerpts from the story linked above:

1/ President Trump, who never served in the military, canceled a 2018 visit to a cemetery where American troops are buried, saying: “Why should I go to that cemetery? It’s filled with losers.” https://t.co/25GkwyjjJM

— The Atlantic (@TheAtlantic) September 3, 2020

2/ The remark is one of several new revelations about Trump’s seeming contempt for military service, @JeffreyGoldberg reports: https://t.co/25GkwyjjJM

— The Atlantic (@TheAtlantic) September 3, 2020

3/ When Senator John McCain died in August 2018, Trump reportedly told his senior staff, “We’re not going to support that loser’s funeral.” https://t.co/25GkwyjjJM

— The Atlantic (@TheAtlantic) September 3, 2020

4/ Why does Trump seem to disdain military service? “He has a lot of fear,” one officer with firsthand knowledge of Trump’s views said. “He doesn’t see the heroism in fighting.” https://t.co/25GkwyjjJM

— The Atlantic (@TheAtlantic) September 3, 2020 

5/5 While Trump took great interest in staging a military parade in D.C., sources say he rejected the idea of such a parade including wounded veterans, because “nobody wants to see that.” https://t.co/25GkwyjjJM

— The Atlantic (@TheAtlantic) September 3, 2020

Update: 9/4/20 unaffiliated article link: "Trump Says He Never Called McCain A ‘Loser.’ Here’s The Evidence He Did"

(↓Excerpt. Copy, no affiliation:)

Trump tonight: "I never called John a loser"

Video: Trump calling John McCain a loser pic.twitter.com/CKOBsVoBuo https://t.co/sa2lncSJcm

— Josh Jordan (@NumbersMuncher) September 4, 2020

......................................

Some additional (early) reporting (link): "Trump denies report claiming he called dead American soldiers 'losers' and 'suckers'"

Brief excerpt:

"...White House deputy press secretary Judd Deere also denied the report in a tweet, calling it "anonymously sourced story." The Atlantic said it spoke with multiple sources on the condition of anonymity. The Associated Press said they confirmed some details in the Atlantic report. NBC News has not independently verified the report."

..........................................

More (early) reporting (link):

"'We only have one truly sacred obligation': Biden hits back at Trump for reportedly calling dead US troops 'losers'"

Excerpt:

"...Biden, whose son Beau served in Iraq, said in his statement that he considers the protection of "generations of American troops have shed blood around the world in defense of our freedoms and to protect US vital interests" the "one truly sacred obligation" of a president.

"Duty, honor, country — those are the values that drive our service members. Those are the values that have formed the core of America's defense for centuries," Biden said. "And if I have the honor of serving as the next commander in chief, I will ensure that our American heroes know that I will have their back and honor their sacrifice — always.""

..................................

Brief excerpt, online encyclopedia article, "Battle of Belleau Wood" (footnotes omitted, emphasis added):

"...After the battle, the French renamed the wood "Bois de la Brigade de Marine" ("Wood of the Marine Brigade") in honor of the Marines' tenacity. The French government also later awarded the 5th and 6th Marine Regiments the Croix de guerre. An official German report classified the Marines as "vigorous, self-confident, and remarkable marksmen ..." General Pershing—commander of the AEF—said, "The deadliest weapon in the world is a United States Marine and his rifle." Pershing also said "the Battle of Belleau Wood was for the U.S. the biggest battle since Appomattox and the most considerable engagement American troops had ever had with a foreign enemy."

Legend and lore has it that the Germans used the term "Teufelshunde" ("devil dogs") for the Marines. However, this has not been confirmed, as the term was not commonly known in contemporary German. The closest common German term would be "Höllenhunde" which means "hellhound".

Regardless of the term's origin, ten years after the battle, Lieutenant Colonel Ernst Otto, from the Historical Section of the German Army, wrote of the Marine Corps; "Their fiery advance and great tenacity were well recognized by their opponents."...

...Marines actively serving in the Fifth and Sixth Marine regiments are authorized to wear the French Fourragère on the left shoulder of their uniform to recognize the legacy and valor of their regimental predecessors."

(Frank Schoonover / Public domain)